There's This Burning
by LinksWassup
Summary: There's always been this burning inside of him, and he'd do anything to make it stop.  Mutant X-Men AU


There's a burning inside of him, and he can't remember a time when he hasn't felt it. When he was younger, it was like a candle inside of him, keeping him warm and safe, guiding him home. He could always feel the heat inside of his body, his veins tingling with the familiar warmth. As he gets older, the burning gets worse. What started off as a familiar hum of heat inside of him soon became a furnace. He feels as if his insides are melting. It's as if he no longer has blood in his veins, but pure fire, coursing through him, burning him, melting him, destroying him.

He doesn't know how to explain the burning, he thought everyone felt it. He thought the candle inside of him was God's warmth, bringing him protection. When the burning gets so bad, and he's too fevered to get out of bed, he thinks maybe he isn't normal after all, and that maybe God doesn't exist.

Sam Evans has dealt with the fire in his body for nearly sixteen years, but today is the worst the burning has ever felt. He can't breathe, the fire in his lungs overpowering him. He doesn't go to school; he lies in bed, trying to breathe, trying to cool off. His windows are open, his fan is on, and he's lying atop his bed naked. He's crying, and pleading with God for the burning to stop, and he wonders what he did to experience Hell before he's died.

Somehow, Sam finds himself sleeping, dreaming. In his dream he's running toward a lake, and the faster he runs, the more he can feel his heart becoming engulfed in flames. He keeps running, but he never gets closer, and the burning keeps getting stronger. Soon the flames in his body begin overwhelming him, and he collapses to the ground. He sees fire flowing from his fingers, his feet, his face, his skin. There's no pain, just the burning, never ending, but he's screaming, and crying. His tears burn his cheeks. The fire coming from his body are burning everything in sight, everything is crumbling and becoming dust.

And, Sam Evans wakes up in his bed, drenched in sweat, screaming, burning. His bed is on fire. _He_ is on fire. But there's no pain, just the burning.

* * *

><p>Sam meets the Professor later that week. He offers Sam a safe haven, help to control his powers, to control the burning, and Sam snatches at the opportunity.<p>

By the end of the month, Sam is out of Tennessee and in New York, officially a student of Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

He learns to control the fire inside of him, to call it out at will. He learns to manipulate it, to bend the fire to his will. But he still can't stop the burning. It's always there, choking him, smoldering his insides.

Sam yearns to put an end to the burning. An end to the constant pain. He wishes it was a candle again, small and warm, keeping him safe. But he has a furnace inside of him, roaring and burning everything in its grasp.

He does all he can to attempt to put an end to the burning. He challenges Finn to underwater races that he knows he'll never win. He accepts Quinn's offer to let him touch the clouds. Neither the water, nor the cold breeze helps, and he knows it won't. But, he won't stop trying.

Sam realizes he's no longer the new kid, when months later, there's a rumor cascading throughout the mansion. An Ice Queen was here. He'd heard Puck telling Quinn that a new kid was coming, whose heart was made of ice, who has a baby face and the look of a heart breaker.

Sam sees the Ice Queen the next day. He's a thin boy, beautiful. He was pale skinned, with perfectly coiffed light brown hair. His eyes glanced over Sam, and Sam knows that those eyes have broken thousands of hearts before, and they were ready to do it again. When the Ice Queen walks away, it's almost as if he's floating. No, as if he's ice skating. And Sam is mesmerized.

* * *

><p>When the Ice Queen finally talks to Sam, Sam finds himself blown away. He introduces himself as Kurt, but Sam will always think of him as the Ice Queen. The boy has such a melodic voice, and whenever he speaks, Sam can see particles of water in the air freeze, and drop to the ground.<p>

Sam finds himself wanting to be around the Ice Queen as often as possible. The burning is as strong and as painful as ever, but around the boy, Sam feels something.

He knows he needs the boy, the Ice Queen. He needs the boy's ice to cool his burning heart. And he thinks that maybe, the boy needs him too.

Sam loves the Ice Queen's eyes. Blue and green and perfect. Sam watches them constantly, seeing the ice inside of the boy's soul. Emotion rarely leaks through his ice barrier, but when it does, Sam is there to see them.

Sam sees those eyes staring at Finn. Those beautiful heartbreaking eyes and he knows that the Ice Queen owns his whole heart.

Sam sees the Ice Queen crying in an empty room, and he knows it's something to do with Finn.

So, Sam walks in and does what he has been waiting to do since he met the boy.

He slowly grabs his hand, intertwining their fingers, clasping tightly. The Ice Queen feels cool against his burning skin. Sam can feel his heart cooling, the furnace becoming a calm fireplace on Christmas. Sam locks eyes with the boy, and see's those beautiful heartbreaking eyes grow wide with surprise, and Sam swears he sees a flicker behind the Ice Queen's irises.

Sam feels braver now, and leans close to the Ice Queen. No, leans in close to Kurt. He breathes in Kurt's frosty breath, and then leans in for a kiss. And, when they kiss, there's steam.


End file.
